title: Growth of half-meter long carbon nanotubes based on Schulz-Flory distribution.
abstract: The Schulz-Flory distribution is a mathematical function that describes the relative ratios of polymers of different length after a polymerization process, based on their relative probabilities of occurrence. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are big carbon molecules which have a very high length-to-diameter ratio, somewhat similar to polymer molecules. Large amounts of ultralong CNTs have not been obtained although they are highly desired. Here, we report that the Schulz-Flory distribution can be applied to describe the relative ratios of CNTs of different lengths produced with a floating chemical vapor deposition process, based on catalyst activity/deactivation probability. With the optimized processing parameters, we successfully synthesized 550-mm-long CNTs, for which the catalyst deactivation probability of a single growth step was ultralow. Our finding bridges the Schulz-Flory distribution and the synthesis of one-dimensional nanomaterials for the first time, and sheds new light on the rational design of process toward controlled production of nanotubes/nanowires.
authors.affiliation: Beijing Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Reaction Engineering and Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Rufan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yingying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Huanhuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Weizhong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry; D008422:Materials Testing; D008956:Models, Chemical; D015233:Models, Statistical; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D037742:Nanotubes, Carbon